In response to your questions about banjo parts, companys,
and vendors.
You are right on the mark about the single piece pot
metal flange. Gibson's were made by Doler & Jarvis Diecasting in Toledo.
The die that the flange(and the same die is used today as the first one
was made in the late 20's) weighs according to those who has seen it probably
3,000 pounds, It is approximately two feet square solid steel. You could
imagine the cost in todays world to create such a peice of equipment not
to mention the equipment used to put the molten pot metal into it. The
flanges come from this die almost ready to go. They do have to have the
flashing cleaned up and minor cosmetic work done.
As to my knowledge the Gibson mold and the Saga mold
are the only two potmetal dies that exist for a gibson style single piece
flange from pot metal. Jimmy Cox at one time did a pot metal type composite
type flange but his was poured then machined much like the brass and bronze
single piece flanges that have been made.
As to the resonator question.
Gibson used to make all parts of the wood rim and resonator
until the later Kalamazoo days. When they went to the milti ply rims they
went to multi ply sidewalls as well but continued pressing the back plates
themselves. Today Gibson as well as many of the other builders buy rims
and resonator walls from Cooperman Drum and Fife company who purchased
the Stu-Mac equipment several years ago.
Much of the metal hardware such as brackets, nuts, t-hoops
tailpieces as always were made by outside vendors. Again it is not worth
it to buy all the equipment to make all the parts. Now if you want a part
made a certain way, they can be done. Stellings tonrings and flanges don't
interchange with others so they are done with Jeffs patented wedge fit
where as many others will interchange.
In the 20's and 30's there were vendors as there are
today.
Kix Stewart once told me that they borrowed an armrest
from Harry Sparks to make the die for the armrest they now sell. The first
armrest cost $10,000. You've got to sell alot of armrest to recoup investments
like that. Grover, and Waverly were early vendors that provide many tuners,
t-hoops, armrest, tailpieces(notice if you get the chance the engravings
on grover 2 and 4 hump clamshell tailpieces, the same engraver did the
engraving on Vegaphone, Maybell, as well as Deluxe,Granada, Bella Voce,
Florentine, and All American, I hope to be able to show that in my series
of identification booklets I'm working on.
Very Special items like top tension hoops are another
story. Faulkner did the first reproductions that I know of in the late
60's, they were ok but not great. Siminoff did some which weren't bad,
Mark Taylor did some, Stelling had some done, but the only place I know
you can get them today is Berlile, he makes them for R&T and Gibson
and for sale to the individual buyer, he was the first to make a top tension
armrest and the bolts exactly like the old ones. But Jim had to want to
do that, there wasn't enough of a market for him to really make any money
unless he just wanted to do something special.
As far as tuners, if you go back to the 50's and 60's
Kluson's were used on the 150's and 250's the cheap grover pancake style
were on 100s. Vegas used the same.
Ode did the banjo world a great favor when they did the
tooling on a ne edition of the planet tuners, Vega started using them while
Gibson stayed with the Kluson and Grover until the late 60's and when Shaller
came into the picture.
Shallers have been the tuner since the early 70's, mainly
because of the cost. Shaller would Stamp what ever company on the housing
to make them more personal to the company. Recently the stu-mac 5 star
tuners, which is basically the same as the Ode of the 60's has been used
by a few manufacturers because to the unreliability of shallers from time
to time and the cost rising.
As far as Stu-mac and FQMS, Stu-mac bought the old waverly
tooling and continues today to make various components,many using old fixtures
and dies from the 20's and 30's, whereas FQMS makes neck blanks but buys
practically all metal parts from others, many parts from Stu-mac,Jimmy
Cox , Jim Berlile and others. Thier tonerings come from another source.
Tone rings are each banjo companys secret weapon, Gibson
uses the Koulish, Stelling has his made to his specs, Deering does the
same, as does Mark Taylor.
The tonering along with the inlay and shape of the pegheads
are the two real distinguishing features of banjos, even if the other parts
are different they do the same job. With the exception of the Neckville
line.
Some places do thier own pearl inlay others contract
it out, as it has been done since the beginning. As a matter of fact thats
the way the Deering's got started, they were doing contract neck and resonator
work for Stelling, and we all can see the good things they are doing for
the world of the banjo.
As far as what you are getting in a major brand instrument
it is the same as its always been. Its kind of like the different kind
of cookies that are on the supermarket shelves, they use the same sugar,
raisins, chocolate go into them but its the way the batter is stirred and
the temperature its cooked and the TLC that makes the difference.
I've been a banjoholic since the early 60's and can't
imagine who I'd be if Ihadn't been associated with the instrument and the
folks who love them. They are truly a good bunch of people.
